ARC Trooper Commander - TLC - Saga Legends (SL 23)

Obi-Wan is assisted on many of his missions during the Clone Wars by an ARC Trooper Commander and his elite supercommandos. Advanced Recon Commandos are elite infantry in the clone trooper ranks; they are used for highly dangerous missions that require a substantial amount of independent thought.

Hasbro has made so many red colored ARC Troopers in 3.75” scale over the years that it’s getting harder and harder to get worked up over them. Are they all Captain Fordo? Are they all generic red ARC Troopers? Does it matter either way? Probably it doesn’t. But one thing is for sure and that is collectors can’t seem to get enough of them. The latest version of what Hasbro is calling the ARC Trooper Commander has been released as a basic figure in The Legacy Collection Saga Legends line. But it is simply a carry forward figure from the hugely popular second series of the TARGET exclusive Order 66 sets. ARC Trooper Commander specifically is from 2008’s TAC Obi-Wan Kenobi/ARC Trooper Commander Order 66 (1 of 6) set. Based on the events in the Tartakovsky Clone Wars micro-series (as well as many other Expanded Universe sources based on the Clone Wars), ARC Trooper Commander is one of the more welcomed repacks by Star Wars collectors. When it comes to clones, it seems that we just can’t get enough of them. But what sets this version of ARC Trooper Commander apart from previous versions is its high quality. We’ll go through it step by step.

ARC Trooper Commander is a rework of the ARC Trooper figure in 2007's TAC Obi-Wan Kenobi/ARC Trooper (No. 07) Comic Packs set. The kama is from 2005's ROTS Clone Commander (III 33) figure also. These are all premium sculpts and together they make a rather incredible ARC Trooper Commander figure. All of his parts are removable. The helmet, pauldron and kama can be removed easily and then he’s been outfitted with an arsenal of weapons to do his part to protect the Republic. He comes with a blaster rifle and 2 DC-17 blaster pistols. Typically the color flashes on the helmets of ARC Trooper action figure are sloppily applied. But Hasbro seemed to find a way to apply this color flawlessly here. We’re extremely impressed with how perfectly the red stripe running up this figure’s helmet looks. And that careful application of deco continues throughout the rest of the figure too up to and including the battle-damage and dirt accumulation from being out on the battlefield. The figure only gets better once you realize how much articulation Hasbro has added to it. This figure shines all around.

ARC Trooper Commander comes with 14 points of articulation, most of which contain premium movement. It totally makes sense why Hasbro is trying so hard to get the ARC Trooper action figures from the Order 66 sets back out into the market again. ARC Trooper (SL 19) was released in the second wave of The Legacy Collection Saga Legends line and the blue ARC Trooper (BD 53) makes up part of the seventh wave of the Build A Droid line in The Legacy Collection. And this figure of course is part of the third wave of The Legacy Collection Saga Legends line. They are all excellent releases and are totally worthy of seeing release after release so collectors can army-build them. The name ARC Trooper Commander alludes to the fact that this character may just indeed be Captain Fordo. But since there are so many of the ARC Trooper characters in the very rich Expanded Universe, it goes without saying that the options of who this character is are nearly limitless. But who care really. This figure should be enjoyed for what it is, not who it is. So enjoy this figure thoroughly and just find a way to get it into your collections. Having it on a basic figure card back is our favorite, but that’s just our two cents.